Published online Apr 28, 2022. doi: 10.35712/aig.v3.i2.28
Peer-review started: December 21, 2021
First decision: March 12, 2022
Revised: March 28, 2022
Accepted: April 19, 2022
Article in press: April 19, 2022
Published online: April 28, 2022
Processing time: 129 Days and 18 Hours
Colorectal cancer is one of the most common neoplasia with an high risk to metastatic spread. Improving medical and surgical treatment is moving along with improving the precision of diagnosis and patient's assessment, the latter two aided more and more with the use of artificial intelligence (AI). The management of colorectal liver metastasis is multidisciplinary, and surgery is the main option. After the diagnosis, a surgical assessment of the patient is fundamental. Reaching a R0 resection with a proper remnant liver volume can be done using new techniques involving also artificial intelligence. Considering the recent application of artificial intelligence as a valid substitute for liver biopsy in chronic liver diseases, several authors tried to apply similar techniques to pre-operative imaging of liver metastasis. Radiomics showed good results in identifying structural changes in a unhealthy liver and in evaluating the prognosis after a liver resection. Recently deep learning has been successfully applied in estimating the remnant liver volume before surgery. Moreover AI techniques can help surgeons to perform an early diagnosis of neoplastic relapse or a better differentiation between a colorectal metastasis and a benign lesion. AI could be applied also in the histopathological diagnostic tool. Although AI implementation is still partially automatized, it appears faster and more precise than the usual diagnostic tools and, in the short future, could become the new gold standard in liver surgery.
Core Tip: Colon cancer is one of the most frequent cancers that unfortunately has a high risk of metastatic spread especially to the liver. The treatment of liver metastases is multidisciplinary, but surgery remains undoubtedly the main act. The results in the treatment of liver metastases have improved significantly over the years, but we continue to seek further paths of improvement. A new path, to which we currently entrust many hopes, is that of artificial intelligence, which could bring revolutionary solutions both in the diagnosis of liver metastases, and as a useful guide for surgical techniques. The purpose of this article is to summarize the latest news reported in the literature and possible research developments on this topic.